COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONOriginally called "liquid bread," the Dopplebock style guided monks through periods of penitent fasting. Wolfgang has heavenly notes of caramel, dark fruit, and toffee balanced by a subtle hop character. While its revered history evokes and appreciation of austerity and sacrifice, this Dopplebock is a rich luxury - no repentance required.

Bottle courtesy of Jan at Craigs doing a Chris O tasting, Edingburgh (ta for the beer Jan) Friday 14th March Dark brown this does have that signature Great Divide taste I cannot say for sure or define what that is, but when I tasted this and was told it was Great Divide other beers from their cannon came straight into my
mind and there were distinct taste similarities. Some chocolate, soft and smooth roastiness, leaves a back bite, a furriness on roof of mouth. Its nice. A6 A4 T8 P4 Ov14 3.6

Milk and dark chocolate aromas along with a fresh sea air component. Beautiful crystal clear copper/ruby color with a tan head. The chocolate shows up immediately with a light creaminess followed by a German lager component. A light sourness in the background offsets the candy sweetness in the body. There’s a nice alcohol bite near the end that enhances the taste. Finishes with milk chocolate on the tongue and a lasting lager flavor. Really delicious dopplebock!

Bottle, 11C. Clear brown with a beige head that fades to less than a coat. Aroma of raisins and praline, subtle spices. Sweet and nutty with raisins and prunes. Alcohol is pretty well hidden. Dries out discretely at the end where there’s a hint of spices and a bit more bitterness than you might expect. Although very sweet, it’s not all that rich - the sweetness is not justified by depth but rather dealt with by the finish. Kept thinking this isn’t quite what it purports to be but enjoying it anyway.

One of the hardest things to do from my perspective as a craft beer drinker and not necessarily a brewer is to brew a "big lager." Dopplebocks are basically big lagers, and I have found it hard to find a legitimate new world style dopplebock that holds a candle to the old world breweries (Ayinger et. al) mainly because it is extremely hard to lager a big beer and have it come off as balanced and big at the same time. In comes the typically excellent Great Divide with their entry into the big lager category with Wolfgang but alas it still has the shortcomings of other new world dopplebocks of being overly sugary & having a malt profile that feels forced and not very balanced. That said, this is probably one of the better US brewed dopplebocks that are available. Aroma is somewhat reserved and saturates quickly, but is inviting with a warm malt character and slight hints of yeast. Appearance is a little underwhelming with a small white head that quickly dissipates. Starts with a heavy nose that turns into a heavy nut profile on the finish. Quite a malt bomb, and not ashamed of it while being clumsy with the execution. Slight hints of alcohol linger along with a tacky mouthful of molasses/syrup. Overall a pretty decent beer, but still a few clicks behind the old world stalwarts.

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